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Fermi Level Engineering of Passivation and Electron Transport Materials for p‐Type CuBi 2 O 4 Employing a High‐Throughput Methodology
Author(s) -
Zhang Zemin,
Lindley Sarah A.,
Guevarra Dan,
Kan Kevin,
Shinde Aniketa,
Gregoire John M.,
Han Weihua,
Xie Erqing,
Haber Joel A.,
Cooper Jason K.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.202000948
Subject(s) - passivation , materials science , overlayer , photocurrent , semiconductor , optoelectronics , coating , nanotechnology , solar cell , surface engineering , fermi level , carrier lifetime , electron , silicon , layer (electronics) , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
Metal oxide semiconductors are promising for solar photochemistry if the issues of excessive charge carrier recombination and material degradation can be resolved, which are both influenced by surface quality and interface chemistry. Coating the semiconductor with an overlayer to passivate surface states is a common remedial strategy but is less desirable than application of a functional coating that can improve carrier extraction and reduce recombination while mitigating corrosion. In this work, a data‐driven materials science approach utilizing high‐throughput methodologies, including inkjet printing and scanning droplet electrochemical cell measurements, is used to create and evaluate multi‐element coating libraries to discover new classes of candidate passivation and electron‐selective contact materials for p‐type CuBi 2 O 4 . The optimized overlayer (Cu 1.5 TiO z ) improves the onset potential by 110 mV, the photocurrent by 2.8×, and the absorbed photon‐to‐current efficiency by 15.5% compared to non‐coated photoelectrodes. It is shown that these enhancements are related to reduced surface recombination through passivation of surface defect states as well as improved carrier extraction efficiency through Fermi level engineering. This work presents a generalizable, high‐throughput method to design and optimize passivation materials for a variety of semiconductors, providing a powerful platform for development of high‐performance photoelectrodes for incorporation into solar‐fuel generation systems.